D-Otto
caught the extra short A to long A sound change. He said "Pair" sounds
like "Payer". But to me and Agnes, "Pair" just sounds like "Pare".

The
great Jeffrey
confirmed D-Otto's observations. It is common practice for clues and titles of puzzles to be edited. Because Jeffrey thought the given title might not have touched on the full extent of his theme (suggesting only the addition of an "I"), he offered the comment placed at the end of the review.

Jeffrey is an expert in letter
addition/removal/substitution themes. There's always something extra in his theme,
extra layer. Or long strings of letter gimmick others would not even
imagine.

The grid design is also very Jeffrey. Stacks of 8's and 7's on tops rather than our standard 4's and 5's.

Across:

1. Stationery item with printed margin lines: LEGAL PAD.

9. Arrive with a flourish: SWEEP IN.

16. Artistic dynasty: MING.
Vases! Tang Dynasty is more artistic. Golden age in Chinese
civilization. Greatest period of poetry, painting, woodblock printing,
etc. Its capital was in Xi'an.

9. Leaves the office for a bit: STEPS OUT.
VA Radiation Department has a "No Smoking in This Area" sign outside
the entrance. Alas, you could still find someone smoking there before or
after their session.

10. WWII females: WACS.

11. Plaza Hotel imp: ELOISE.

12. Get away from: ELUDE.

13. __ favor: POR.

14. Part of MIT: Abbr.: INST.

15. At no time, poetically: NEER.

17. Mature insect: IMAGO.

18. Neighbor of Chad: NIGER.

19. Crystal-bearing rock: GEODE.

24. One holding a derby?: HAT HOOK. Great clue/fill.

29. Open org.: USTA.

30. Fish-and-chips fish: COD.
Boomer now eats fish every Friday and goes to church every Sunday. He's
a good Catholic now, after lapsing for many many years.

32. "No need to shout": I'VE GOT EARS. Not a phrase I use. I'll answer this to Boomer next time.

34. Banking org. since 1933: FDIC.

35. One might run an errand: AIDE.

36. "__ take a while": IT'LL.

37. GPS datum: RTE.

38. "Too little payment __ great a debt": Shak.: FOR SO.

39. Relax between games: REST UP.

40. Union title?: MRS.

42. Visiting the Griffith Observatory, say: IN LA.

43. Editor's mark: STET.

46. Place for a rocker: PORCH.

47. Spider-Man films director: RAIMI (Sam). I thought he was married to Kate Winslet before. Nope. It's Sam Mendes, who directed the "Skyfall" and "Spectre".

48. In the area of: ABOUT.

49. Cleric's residence: MANSE.

51. They work on books: TREASURERS.

56. How to talk to the hand?: Abbr.: ASL.

57. "The Godfather" actor: CAAN (James). Hotheaded Sonny Corleone

60. Genesis grandson: ENOS.

61. Clandestine org.: NSA.

63. Transmogrify, e.g.: ALTER.

64. Get going: LEAVE.

65. Sri Lankan people: TAMIL.

67. Homeric epic: ILIAD.

68. 2010 health law: Abbr.: ACA.

69. Airport serving Washington: DULLES.

74. Ski resort helpers: T BARS.

76. Pre-hurricane emergency op: EVAC.

77. Footballer's tool, in France: TETE.

78. Literally, "folding paper": ORIGAMI.

79. Sports shoe brand: AVIA.

80. Star trek figures?: MAGI. Lovely clue.

81. Low-level laborer: PEON.

84. Saigon soup: PHO.
They were inspired by Cantonese rice noodles. No basil latter though.
We tend to sprinkle sliced green onion or cilantro on top of noodles.

Vietnamese Pho

Cantonese Beef Noodle

85. Ram: BANG INTO.

87. Sleep stage: REM.

89. "See you later!": CIAO.

91. Old-school "cool": HEP.

93. Artist Monet: CLAUDE.

94. Its capital is Kigali: RWANDA. Thankfully KIGALI is not the answer.

95. Carpentry shop gadgets: VISES.

96. Kitchen sponge brand: OCELO.

97. The king of France?: LE ROI.

99. Old-time actor Lew: AYRES.

102. February forecaster from Punxsutawney: PHIL.

103. Sound measure: SONE.

105. Make woolens, say: KNIT. And 106. They're woolly: EWES.

107. Travel pillow spot: NAPE.

108. Clears (of): RIDS.

109. Redding of blues: OTIS.

110. "Party of Five" actress Campbell: NEVE.

113. In-flight drink option: TEA.

114. Some appliances: GES.

115. Like most of Denmark's flag: RED.

C.C.

Note from Jeffrey:

"I’ve
become particularly alert to this type of situation ever since Jeff
Chen reviewed a NYT puzzle by me and thought the theme gimmick was
rather weak. Upon learning that the theme was a bit more complex than
he originally thought (it also involved the consistent pairing of one
letter with another added letter), he edited his comments to be much
more positive about the theme. My Sunday puzzle’s gimmick is comparable
to that of the NYT puzzle, so it is susceptible to precisely the same
partial interpretation. Of course, this may seem like (and probably is,
to most people) a rather small matter. But we crossword constructors
are an unusual bunch, and such niceties are part and parcel of our
attempts at creativity"

What a fun surprise for a Sunday- a JW puzzle! He has two Shakespeare quotes, one the benefits of the 21 x 21 grid is the freedom (and challenge).

On this the day of the beginning of the last season of GAME OF THRONES we have a CSO with STARK ; we also have a college basketball one with ZION . Oo and I watched the remake of THE TIME MACHINE Friday night. The reference to SLOAN KETTERING brought back many puzzles from the past.

My learning experience was that capsid is the protein shell of a virus. It consists of several oligomeric structural subunits made of a protein called a protomer. The observable 3-dimensional morphological subunits, which may or may not correspond to individual proteins, are called capsomeres. The capsid encloses the genetic material of the virus. I particularly loved the definition "another term for mirid."

I offer the title Artificial Intelligence because I do not get I Candy, other than its pun.

I had a rather moving experience this morning. I hope that Boomer may have had the same. It is Palm Sunday and the mass had a surprising effect on ne this morning. I have sat through many long masses on this particular Sunday over the years but for some reason today stood out.

Well, the streak is over. Missed the tada by one letter. I first had Bump INTO for "Ram" and spelled the paper folding art as ORaGAMI. That left me with HUA for "Japanese Okay". I knew I'd seen HUA before but it didn't seem like the correct answer. Then when I got CONGRESS MAIN a short time later, I changed Bump into BANG but did not recheck the crossing fill, so I ended up with HAa instead of HAI.

Loved "Star trek figures" for MAGI.

The bane of my work life: "I know you've got a lot on your plate, but I need you to do a DEEP DIVE on this, and I need the results ASAP - no later than 9:00 AM tomorrow morning."

I don't think I've ever heard, "I'VE GOT EARS" before.

My dad kiddingly called my brother-in-law Punxsatawney Bill.

I mowed a little bit yesterday afternoon. It's snowing today. A steady downfall for about an hour. At least this time it won't stick around.

FLN, Misty and Lemonade, it wasn't until reading that article on James Holzhauer that I saw him in a different light. Madame Defarge deserves the credit for opening my eyes.

Jeffrey, this was a wonderful puzzle. Thank you. I was on the wrong track, but as I finally began filling in on repeat passes and perps, I really came to appreciate the cluing. Thank you so much, and especially thank you for stopping by and offering your insight. My fave today was, of course, KNIT, which I will be doing soon. It's snowing here, so just watching the Masters should provide some hope of Spring's beauty.

C.C., thank you for the tour and the links. Many pho restaurants have popped up lately. It seems I need to begin "researching" which I like best. ;-)

Have a sunny day for me. Looks like the Masters will have to do it for me.

I'm always delighted and excited to see a JW puzzle, especially on such a gloomy, dreary Sunday, in April, no less. The theme was obvious early on and added to the fun in parsing the themers. I saw only the addition of the "I" until Jeffrey explained the short to long A sound. My unknowns were scarce for a Sunday: Raimi, Sal, Volga, AABA, and Capsid. Not too many w/os, either: Neck/Nape, Esau/Enos, and IPAs/PBRs. I saw the CSO to Madame Defarge at Knit, but missed the wooly Ewes! My favorite C/A was Star trek figures=Magi. Yakima was a gimme as I had a friend years ago from there.

Thank you, Jeffrey W, for bringing lots of sunshine into my Sunday morning and thanks, CC, for the excellent expo. Your food photos are always so scrumptious looking and your cultural references are always appreciated. It's such a coincidence that you mentioned Sam Mendes and Kate Winslet because I just read a lengthy article about her which didn't mention him. As I was pretty sure they had been married, I did some research and found that they had, indeed, been married. She's a favorite of mine, along with Cate Blanchett and Clare (Claire?) Danes.

Where have CED and SwampCat disappeared to? We seem to be missing several regulars. I hope everyone is well and just busy with other interests.

Musings-My GAIT was a TROT through this fun Sunday-Woody - “Hey Norm, how ‘bout something TALL, cold and full of beer?” Norm - “Sounds like my wife, Woody”-We teaching vets remember the smell of alcohol DITTO copies-CONGRESS seems more intent on investigating each other than ENACTING anything-A fun KALE comment-The entire Midwest is ready for some clement weather-The Huskers ASSESSED the FB and BB programs and spent big money for two coaches who they hope will SWEEP IN and make big improvements-My 60-degree wedge allows me to LOFT a golf ball high into the AIR-People who did not EVAC during our recent floods put rescuers in great peril. One even died.-As a sub the teacher had me show Hotel Rwanda about horrible factional violence in Kilgali-IT’LL take a while? Not so much last night as we and 400 others witnessed a wedding where the ceremony took only 15 minutes in a beautiful facility! Great food and an open bar ensued.

Thank you CC for all that you do to add enjoyment to our collective crossword solving experience. And to her (understandably) devoted fans, each year before the ACPT, she alerts me as to who will be attending the tournament and I do my best to provide her with pictures. This year, it was Jeffrey and for those who have never met him in the flesh, he is as delightful as he is (obviously) crossword savvy. We both agree that should CC ever attend the ACPT, she will be heralded as a supersrar and it will be my great pleasure to introduce her to all attendees of the Cru Dinner on the Fri night of the tournament.

Artistic dynasty? My first thought was of a family of artists, but none, less 4 letter ones, came to mind (Dali?). But then as an amateur potter since 1972 I recalled the highly florid cobalt and gilt designs on porcelain on Ming dynasty vases and that worked with the perps. But "Sung" would have also qualified. This was the 10th century dynasty that created modern ceramics. The Sung potters invented the downdraft kiln that made possible high-fire stoneware pottery, which they then refined into porcelain by gradually increasing the proportion of kaolin and feldspar in the clay body. Their work is characterized by graceful, perfectly proportioned vessels, with elegant deer tail brush work, e.g. these Tz'u chou stonewares: https://www.google.com/search?hs=fU4&channel=fs&q=tzu+chou+pottery&tbm=isch&source=univ&client=ubuntu&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiV9uXP7s_hAhXpYd8KHS8nBOEQsAR6BAgJEAE&biw=1556&bih=928

Delightful Sunday puzzle, many thanks, Jeffrey--and thank you for stopping by. I got the bottom portion first, surprisingly including HOT RUNNING WAITER which gave me the I theme. It helped to know CLAUDE Monet and that cute February PHIL and IAGO, and I was thankful that there were lots of doable clues and answers here and there among the tricky ones. My favorite answer was MRS for 'Union title.' But I still don't quite get PBRS for those beer orders? Pub brews, or something? You can tell I'm not a beer drinker and I probably haven't been to a pub in twenty or thirty years. But a fun puzzle all around, thanks again, Jeffrey.

I always love your Sunday write-up, C.C. Your comment about Boomer and religion makes lots of sense to me. I had stopped praying in my late twenties or thirties, and then, many years later, Rowland had his stroke. While in rehab, he wouldn't wake up one morning and they took him away and I was terrified that it was over and began praying. It turned out he was okay, they had only given him too much sedative that night, and he came home after a month and we had seven great years with him at home after that. I've been saying a daily prayer of thanksgiving ever since. And now I have Boomer in my daily prayer too.

Sorry about the not great weather for some, and I hope everyone has a really good Sunday.

So much I didn't understand or appreciate about this puzzle until reading all your various explanations. I solved it all okay, and enjoyed solving it, but didn't understand the short A to long A transformation (in addition to the added I) nor did I know what the heck a PBR is. I should have known, though, since I myself have ordered MGD (Miller Genuine Draft, not Meibomian Gland Dysfunction) before. Excellent opus, Mr. Wechsler.

SEATTLE quickly morphed into TACOMA which more slowly eventually morphed into YAKIMA.

HAT RACK morphed into HAT ROOM after I got the two O's, but then had to become HAT HOOK.

TANG had to become MING, even though I agree with CC that much great art was created during the Tang dynasty. The famous poet Lǐ Bái lived and wrote during that "Golden Age of Chinese Poetry". The great painter, Dǒng Qíchāng (董其昌), lived during the Ming dynasty, however. I love his paintings.

You make an excellent point, too, waseeley.

We watched the movie Green Book last night and liked it a lot. "The Sixteen chapel" cracked me up big time.

Hi everybody. Thank JW and CC. In enjoyed the puzzle and pretty much got the theme though the title provided seemed muddled to me. Or maybe it's me that's muddled.

I've been AWOL lately. I've been doing the puzzles regularly but having a hard time getting into a positive state of mind needed to make worthwhile comments. Barbara is about to start on a new round of chemo. I think she's dealing with all of this better than I am.

I went to bed last night with a malfunctioning TV set. It's a one-year old Sony Bravia. It was displaying three colored circles on the screen and nothing else. Even the on/off function was inoperative. My go-to fix of unplugging the cable box wouldn't help 'cause the problem seemed to be with the TV inself. It's installed supported against the wall with a bracket so it seemed hard to get to the back of it. I went online and found a help line. They wanted my credit card number. 'BUZZT!' So I went to bed depressed and not knowing what to do.

This morning I decided to pull the TV far enough away from the wall to get to the back of it. I found where it was plugged into a wall socket. I unplugged the TV, waited about 30 seconds and plugged it back in. It came back on normally! I almost sprained my shoulder from patting myself on the back! Sunday Morning seems to have been preempted by the Masters. Rats...

All of this tension, frustration and excitement with my little success has left me wanting a nap. Later...

Loved this one! It didn’t take much time to catch on to the A —> AI transform, and the AH —> I sound changes jumped right out. CAPSID was a learning moment for me. The Star Trek —> MAGI clue and answer were brilliant. And I enjoyed all the cultural Chinese additions, C.C.

Solving time was just over half an hour, pretty much in the usual range for me. I wouldn’t have minded it taking longer; it beats looking out the window at the 4” of new snow! And... there’s one of the Village’s snow plows making its second sweep of the street.

I’ve been AWOL lately. I most always do the puzzles daily (except when Cruciverb is down!) but the time needed to get my thoughts, such as they are, in order and typed and uploaded just hasn’t been there. I’m probably not going to be real regular in my posts now, either. What prompted me to do this today was a phone call I got on Friday from Abejo wishing me a happy birthday (it was) and saying that he hoped everything was OK here. That call meant a lot to me and moved me to get it in gear and post today. Thanks, Abejo!

BillG got my nap today. I guess I will just have to take two this evening. And Bill—The first step in fixing an electronic delinquent should always be to get a bigger hammer…

I, as an aspiring constructor [and C.C. knows how far I am from total-suck], can understand those special little "Easter Eggs" that one puts into a grid and hope other's "get it." Keep rocking it Jeffrey.

D-O: LOL on PBR. It's funny how commercials went on for soooo long; in today's short attn-span world Columbo would never be on the air. //I watched one last night - took the murder foreverto kill the guy.

BillG - You are welcome here, among friends, even if you feel sour. Vent Bro.Re: your TV story Have you tried turning it off and on again [IT Crowd - 2:04] is priceless.And to WikWak - when you have a hammer, ever job is a nail :-)

TTP - LOL! The Onion. I actually used to buy issues in newsprint; they're not Lampoon but close. Seriously though, how cool is the image of the event-horizon? And M87 was eating matter 60,000 years ago as we see it now. We were barely coming down from the trees then. *mind blown*

DW's flight was delayed due to storms in ATL. She's finally boarded and heading home. Nap time b/f I build her some stir-fry.

I loved this puzzle and though Sunday puzzles are often a slow paced slog, this one was one of happy anticipation for the next fun cell. Some fil just filled itself, SAL, CAPSID, ORALB. I only noticed them in C.C.'s recap.

I liked MRS. and HATHOOK and of course love any Shakespeare quotation along with a Haydn ORATORIO. I had OPERETTA first. Yes! Erasers were worn down in the solving of this puzzle.

After almost all the grid was filled LIFELONGPAIL took way too long but once I sussed ALTI, it was history!

Also, I misspelled AYRES as AYERS so that took a while as well. Of course, being a desert dweller I loved HOTRUNNINGWAITER!

Remember the 'old' days when you could often actually fix a TV by testing the tubes until you found the culprit? These days, a repairman is needed to totally replace the mother board or something similar. Or, most likely, you just buy a new TV.

I was never much a mechanic but..., many years ago my wonderful 1966 Mustang needed some serious attention. I decided to tackle the job myself. I overhauled the entire engine including dismantling the power steering and A/C. I asked the right questions as necessary. I was extremely proud of myself when I finished the job successfully, I think mostly because it seemed so far beyond my abilities. Nowadays, a car engine looks like a lot of unserviceable modules. No carburetor to tinker with and adjust.

I never thought of myself as a good athlete so imagine my pride when I successfully trained for and completed the LA Marathon in 3 hours, 59 minutes and 44 seconds. I'm sure I was a nuisance telling everybody about it who would sit still and listen.

Hi Y'all! Thanks for a great enjoyable puzzle and expo, Jeffrey & C.C.! You both represent artistic dynasties in the cwd world.

Thought the theme was quick to penetrate the mind fog and produce some chuckles.

WikWak: good to know you are okay.

BillG: prayers for you and Barbara. Watching a loved one struggle and suffer seems harder sometimes than having the illness oneself.

Fermatprime: hope you are settling in and continuing to heal at home. Hugs!

YR: Hope your stillness is because you are busy getting ready for tomorrow's surgery. Will keep you prayerfully in mind.

My brother & his wife came to see me yesterday. They are camping at a nearby lake with all the comforts of a big-rig camper. They are avid gardeners in their 70's and have a showcase yard as well as a vegetable patch. They were laughing that they went camping because the lovely weather last week inspired them to work so hard in the yard, they had to leave to get some rest. I'm amazed they haven't tried to landscape the campground. Nothing inspires me to yardwork any more.

I enjoyed the puzzle - but I'm with Agnes and CC - I would not think pair and fair have long "A"s - it would be interesting to have a regional map as to who pronounces it "payer" and who pronounces it "pare"! but it was still clever and lots of smiles!

Touching finish to the Masters - seeing Tiger with his kids and mom. So much juggling of the leader board on the last day.

We had a open house and dedication service for the addition on the church this afternoon, so it was a long day. It started out with snow!!!- but then became brilliantly sunny and 55 by this afternoon!

Loved loved loved this puzzle!IM thanks for missing me. I still do the puzzles every day, and read the blog, but my electronic woes keep me from posting . I simply had to tell our word wizard how much this one meant to me so I am in the lobby of my building trying to tap into their wifi.,

I can only post from my iPhone . My iPad is kaput! But it only works sporadically.

I'm assuming this will go thru.

Jeffrey, this was such a treat! Of course you beat me....you usually do but I had so much fun competing against you I figure I won.

I got the theme at PAIR FOR THE COURSE. In my southern accent PAIR is pronounced PAY-ER. So the extra theme was revealed. How do you come up with this brilliance??

I loved MAGI for Star Trekkers. And MRS for union title. So clever....as all of your obvious clues are !!

Bill G, I am so sympatico with you! My DIL is also undergoing strong chemotherapy, in her case for “triple negative” breast cancer. I add my prayers and best wishes for your wife’s recovery. Like you, I also loved to tinker with stuff and repair it. Unlike you, I didn’t run any marathons or any competitive races. Congratulations to you for that. You’re a cool guy.

Daughter#3 recital, (her own compositions for her music teacher degree, part one)followed Daughter #1 singing show in a Manhattan Bar,followed by Moving daughter#1 from one NYC Apt to another,REALLY put a kink in my CW's...

Just finding parking in NYC can be a miraculous religious experience!I added 2 Apps to my Smartphone. Spot Angels (awesome! STreet parking!)& Spot Hero, (Cheap parking coupons prepaid for garages)We thought the whole move was going to be a bust when Constructioneliminated ALL parking near the delivery entrance. Two hours later with the moving van circlingDaughter found a construction truck about to move and we got the Van driver to circle the block one more time while we basically laid in the spot so no one else could park.Note: it took the guy 45 minutes just to move the van from 55th to 57th streetand I did not have a coat lying in the street! Dang it got cold!The Doorman from the nearby Hotel helped us shooing away buses, and the constructionsignalman gave us his orange traffic cones to block off a spot (Yay!)

Anywho, Tx Anon-T for the Bass Tips!

And I would post singing vids & pics of her scaredy cats if I couldbut I have had it! I am going to bed!

Pleasant Sunday puzzle. The theme was easy to figure out and filling in the long answers made this a nice exercise while watching the Masters at 9:00 AM. Historic win for Tiger. Never been a big fan of his but he seems more relaxed and pleasant these days.

Bill G:Please add my prayers to those who are praying for Barbara and also for you and all your family. It's stressful on all of them. And please keep a positive attitude. I have found that it helps in all situations.

My hair stylist (who is also my ex-BIL) was diagnosed with stage 2 pancreatic cancer so the family has rallied around for him. His siblings came from other states and his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren all have been visiting him. At a time like this the love of family cannot be underestimated.